Twisted Rose
by Baby You're My Immortal
Summary: ALL HUMAN. Set in the nineteenth century in England. Rosemarie Hathaway is part of a royal family ruling over a small region. She's posh, she's cossetted and she's vain but is it just a farce? When a servant of Russian background makes his way into her life she begins to fight through the royal wall that has protected her her whole life. **COMPLETE**
1. Chapter 1

Twisted Rose

**Full Summary: ALL HUMAN. Set in the nineteenth century in England. Rosemarie Hathaway is part of a royal family ruling over a small region. She's posh, she's cossetted, and she's vain…but is it just a farce. Inside of her is a young girl just waiting to burst out and live her own life away from the politics and the routine of being royal. When a servant from Russian background works his way into her life, she begins to fight through the royal wall that has protected her for her whole life.**

Chapter One

Yellow, purple and red filled my eyes as I surveyed the grounds of the manor that I lived in with my family and servants. The gardener had done a very good job in the gardens this morning. A light wind ruffled my hair and my dress as I stood at the head of the balcony that extended from my bedroom. My hands pressed against the old mahogany that was used as a railing, I leaned over further to look at the entrance to the home that I had grown up in. Men bustled around down there with crates full of food and drink that was to be used for the gathering tonight. Oh, why did my mother go all out for these occasions?

My eyes continued to survey the grounds when they fell on a young man with lustrous brown hair. He piqued my interest. I had never seen him here before and he looked so…foreign. My mother almost never hired new staff for this 'fine establishment.' She only ever really allowed family of the original bloodlines who were staffed here when the house was built in the sixteenth century. A lot of history was woven into the tapestries that hung on the wall, built into the stone, and lost in the floorboards. My mother would never hire a new man to work here…not without a good reason.

With less than a moment of hesitation, I swept from the balcony and back into my own bedroom with the intent of asking my mother what she was up to with this. She must have an ulterior motive with his placement here. My feet pattered off the creaky stairs as I hurried to where my mother would be in the drawing room.

"Rosemarie, don't run in the house" She scolded. "It's not ladylike" She peered out of the window to assure herself that no one saw my un-ladylike behaviour.

"My apologies" I said, giving her a curt nod that I had been brought up to apply whenever I had committed some wrong-doing. "Mother, may I ask why you have hired the foreign man to work for us?" She looked down for a brief moment as her eyes darted around the room. She obviously hadn't been prepared for my outburst.

"Well, I needed another pair of hands to set up for tonight" She answered as she finally brought her eyes up to meet mine again. "If all goes well, I may keep him on"

"Mother, you can no longer gull me" I reminded as I straightened my back to look like a proper lady. "I know all of your tricks. Why don't you set and tell me what this is really about."

"Alma was in the village earlier on in the week and she heard some of the workers talking about me" My mother began to explain. She didn't even need to say any more. I knew that she couldn't handle anyone tattling about her. "They believe I'm too set in my ways. I'm not moving with the times. It's utter rubbish, I assure you."

"Mother, you don't have to tell me" I chuckled. "I understand" She gave me a bright smile as she stood up from the wicker chair that sat in the corner of the room by the roaring fireplace.

"Where is young Vasilisa?" My mother asked as she peered, yet again, out of the window that was tarnished by filthy marks from the storm we got last night. "She promised me that she would be here to help me set up for tonight. I have some of your father's friends coming over as well. I want to make a good impression on everyone who comes."

"She will be here shortly" I assured. "Lissa knows when she is due."

"How many times have I told you that her name is Vasilisa?" She snapped. "Learn some basic manners, girl."

"Sorry, mother" I sighed, already tired of being told that I had no manners and I wasn't fit enough to take over after she had died.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry I'm so late" Lissa apologised as she hurried into the drawing room. "I hadn't intended to be. I got caught up in the gardens. I could admire those flowers for days."

"Vasilisa, it's not like you to be dilatory" She commented. "No matter, will you accompany me to the scullery? I need to dictate the cooking staff before we begin the real preparations." Oh yes, always the dictator, always breathing down people's necks…that was my mother.

"Of course, Lady Hathaway" She answered before she turned to me. "Rosemarie, I will be sure to see you at the event" I gave her a curt nod and a smile before they swept away from the drawing room. Well, what was I supposed to do now? This was what being royal was really like. It's like I just sit around this dastardly house and wait for my next order from my mother or whoever else thinks it's appropriate to tell me what to do every second of my pitiful life.

"Oh, I'm so sorry" A voice apologised, snapping me out of my thoughts. My neck snapped over to his direction to see the servant that had recently been brought here from some foreign place that I would only ever dream of seeing. "I didn't know anyone was in here" He carried a crate of what I could only assume was the finest wine my mother could import.

"So you think it's okay for you to be in here when there is no one else around?" I questioned with a stony look marring my face. "I know that you are new here, but that does not give you the excuse to go wandering in rooms that you have no place in."

"Lady Hathaway, I apologise profusely" He said, still clutching the crate close to his chest. "I promise it will no longer happen again. Please, let me introduce myself. I am Dimitri Belikov."

"I don't care who you are" I snapped. "All I care about is that you do your job and you do it well. Now get out of my sight and do some work…if you want paid for your day of work." His mouth dropped slightly at my words, but once he retrieved his composure, he scurried off.

As soon as the room was empty, I took a seat on the wicker chair that my mother had previously occupied. It seemed as though with every passing day, I grew more and more similar to that woman. I wanted with all my heart to be different from her. I wanted to be the nice one of this place. God knows that there aren't many nice royals.

An hour later, the party arrangements were really starting to take place now. Almost every single room in the manor was bustling and jostling with people. I managed to stay away from the Dimitri person by keeping myself busy with greeting guests. It hadn't been my idea. My mother said that it would be a good idea for the townspeople to meet her daughter…to see how her offspring turned out was what she really meant. If I did badly tonight, she would be furious with me…I would have ruined her reputation.

"Good evening, Miss Rinaldi" I beamed as the girl shrugged off her coat and placed it in my hands gently.

"Good evening, Miss Hathaway" She greeted back as she took a few steps into the house. "You all did a fine job with this place tonight."

"Thank you, Miss Rinaldi" I said, plastering a fake smile on my face as I took her coat into the cupboard. The heels that my mother had forced me into were almost breaking my feet and I was sure that they were making them bleed. I tried my hardest to hide the wince as I took another guests coat.

"Here let me do that" A voice suddenly cut in. Strong, masculine, tanned hands took the coat from my own and placed it into the cupboard with a grace that I could not manage. When I looked up to see who it was, I found myself growing increasingly annoyed. It was that Dimitri servant.

"Thank you for your help, but know that I do not need it anymore" I muttered. I was perfectly fine with him working here, but that did not mean that I wanted him messing around with my work. If my mother found out, she would hit the roof and Dimitri would end up without a job here. Even I wasn't that cruel as to wish that on someone. "And it is rude to snatch."

"I am sorry, Miss" He apologised. I could see the conflict flashing in his eyes. It didn't take a genius to work out that he was confused by the way I was acting. He had truly believed that he was doing an action that would put right his wrong doing from before. My anger and annoyance had made him puzzled. "I thought you would appreciate a break."

"I am fine, Mr Belikov" I snapped. "Shouldn't you be serving drinks or something like that? This shouldn't take much longer. Thank you for your help, anyway" I didn't see a problem in at least trying to be nice to him from now on. I had obviously hurt his feelings with what I said. Perhaps it was my tone. Perhaps I was growing more like my mother every day and I didn't even realise it. I sincerely hope that that wasn't the case.

Once most of the guests had arrived, my mother took me off door duty and assigned me a new job. I was now expected to mingle with all the groups…find out what people thought of the party and make myself out to be a proper royal young lady. Some of the things my mother said made me want to physically throw up. I couldn't understand why she cared so much about what others thought about her or why she wanted to be considered as one of the best people in the town, yet I still just went along with it and did what I was told because I was expected to.

"Did you hear about Miranda?" One group was discussing. "She's only gone and got herself pregnant. She not even married yet! If I was her mother, I would be throwing her out of the house right away. There is no way that a bastard would be born under my roof."

The conversations bored me. So many trivial things about people down in the village and wrong doings that they had apparently committed. I couldn't see the problem with having a child before you were married, however I knew that if I ever did that, I would be thrown out at the blink of an eye and stripped of my title. It was just the way things went in this town.

"What have they said about me?" My mother soon asked once I met up with her in the drawing room. "Everything's good, I hope."

"Oh yes, everyone is loving your party" I sighed. "Everyone just loves the fact that you've hired Dimitri. They all think he's very handsome."

"Ah yes, well he is a dashing young…" She began before she trailed off and looked at me in disgust. "Did you just call him Dimitri?" She asked. I closed my eyes in frustration with myself. How had I managed to slip up already? "Since when did you get on first name basis with a servant? Since when did you start calling a servant handsome? Has he tried something with you?" Oh, she was so paranoid.

"No! Of course he hasn't" I defended. "He would never do something like that!"

"Oh, and how would you know?" She questioned. "You have known him all but five minutes and you expect to know everything about him. I have had enough of your acting out. You get up those stairs and you go to bed before you create another episode and have people thinking you're a whore"

Her words stung. I hurried from the room with tears brimming in my eyes. I wouldn't let them fall when people were around. I wouldn't want to embarrass my mother even further. It was just my luck that Dimitri was standing at the stairs with drinks in his hands. His eyes fell on me and a look of concern flashed in his eyes. I simply let my hair fall over my eyes and rushed to my bedroom. Why did this always happen to me!?

**Well, first chapter! What did you think? Please review and tell me, so I know to continue it or not XD**


	2. Chapter 2

Twisted Rose

**Thank you so much to anyone who has reviewed! It really means a lot to me! Hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave some more feedback.**

Chapter One

As soon as I was in my bedroom, I took a seat on the larger than life bed and simply cried. It didn't happen that often that I cried but, when I did, it was practically unstoppable. Why did I have to live in this place? It's not like I even fit in here. I'm not cut out to be a royal. Everyone knows it…some are just more discreet about it compared to others. My mother, on the other hand, was not discreet one bit.

She makes it so obvious and apparent that I didn't group how she had wanted me to, that I didn't grow up to be a younger version of her. I may thank the lord that that didn't happen, but she curses Him.

As I looked around my room, the tears halted for a moment. Gosh, the amount of times she had pushed and locked me up in here because I had apparently been 'bad.' I had always believed that I was one of the most badly behaved girls, but really it was my mother who was the weird one.

I soon got up from my bed and stumbled over to the balcony where I gripped onto the railing tightly for support. I didn't want to stay here a moment longer than I needed to. It was safe to say that I absolutely hated being royal. I didn't belong. I wanted out.

"Come on" I whispered to myself. "All you've got to do is climb down and run away. It can't hurt that much. Just do it" At that moment, I felt like I was going insane, but I had heard before that insane people didn't question their sanity. I was okay, for now.

Even though I knew it probably wasn't a good idea, I still straddled the railing on the balcony. I couldn't face another day being ordered around by my mother. My other leg swung over and my dress spilled over to the other side. Now there was only the hard part to do. How was I supposed to climb down the side of the house with a pair of high heels on?

With the thought if breaking my neck if I fell freshly in my mind, I lowered down until my foot had something to stand on and my hands had something to grip. It was a poor descent…one that left my hands cut and my legs grazed off all of my stumbles.

My legs were shaking once I finally got to the ground to the point where I had to stand a moment with the house as my support until I calmed myself down. With a tiny sob, I gathered the material of my dress up in my fists and made off in a slight jog.

"Miss Hathaway?" I heard a voice behind me ask just as I started running. I knew that I probably wouldn't make it very far, but I had expected to get further than this. This was just pitiful. I could hear his heavy footsteps as he ran after me, still calling my name. There was no way I was going to be able to outrun this man for long…not when I was wearing a pair of high heels and a dress that wasn't designed for running in. Once I reached the flowerbeds, a hand grabbed my own and pulled me back, making me fall over on the grass.

As soon as I was down, I brought my knees up to my chin and hugged my legs in, refusing to let go.

"Miss Hathaway, what are you doing?" He asked. His accent was foreign, telling me that it was Belikov. I wouldn't call him Dimitri…I would only make that mistake once in my life. I refused to answer him. There was no way that I wanted him to know my problems in life and I was certainly not going to tell him that the reason I was trying to run away with tears flooding down my face was because I had an argument with my mother of _him._ "I'm sorry, but if you don't tell me, I'm going to have to drag you back to that house and get help. I'm not letting you run off like this at night. You don't understand what's out there."

I didn't care about what was out there. I was royal, no one would try anything with me and even if I did walk into danger, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I'd get out of being a royal…that sounds pretty good to me.

He gave a long sigh before beginning to drag me back up away from the flowerbeds. I thrashed around as much as I could, but it didn't take a genius to work out that he was a lot stronger than me. There was no way I was going to be able to break his grip of my own accord.

"I didn't want to have to do this, but you've left me with no choice" He grunted as he continued to pull me away. My mother was going to kill me if she saw this.

"No!" I screamed. "Fine, I'll go back. Just stop dragging me" He let go of my legs and held his hound out for me to take. Hesitantly, I took his hand and he pulled me up from the ground.

"What do you think you were playing at?" He asked as we walked slowly up from the flowerbeds. I honestly didn't even know how to answer that. When I look back on what I was thinking when I was climbing down from the balcony, I can't decipher my intentions. I overreacted as per usual, but almost ended up running away because of this one.

"My mother and I disagree on a lot of things" I spoke carefully. I didn't want to ruin her reputation as much as she annoys me. "She can be pretty harsh when I do something that she doesn't quite like."

"What did you do?" He asked. This was the moment where it got too awkward for me. "What made your mother so angry with you that you would cry and feel like you have to run away?"

"It's nothing much" I lied as we stopped at the wall that I had climbed down. "It's just the usual kind of things I do. I just don't act royal enough for her standards. I'm overreacting Dim- I mean, Mr. Belikov."

"You can call me Dimitri if you want to" He assured. "I'm sure you'll feel better by tomorrow. You should get some rest."

"Goodnight, Dimitri" I sighed before I turned around and began to climb up the wall, but I was stopped by Dimitri's hand on my arm.

"What are you doing?" He questioned. I lowered myself down again until I was on the ground.

"I'm going back up to my room" I answered with a confused look on my face. "I can't let my mother see me like this. She'd kill me if I ruined her reputation any more than I already have."

"I'm not letting you climb that" He insisted. "You could fall and hurt yourself and I am not having your blood on my hands. I refuse to let you."

"Dimitri, you can't control me" I reminded with a small smile. It was nice to have someone to care for you. "If anything, it's the other way round." He chuckled at me logic before shaking his head.

"I have more brute strength than you" He laughed. "If I don't want you to climb up that wall, you're not climbing up that wall. End of."

"Well, how else do you expect me to get to my room without my mother seeing me?" I asked as I looked around us with worry. If we stayed out here much longer, someone was bound to see us.

"Come with me" Dimitri grunted as he grabbed my forearm and yanked me over to the back of the house. I had never been around here before since I had never had any need to. I had always been kept at the front of the house. I was nothing but a pretty face to my mother. If I stayed in this house, that was going to be the way it was always going to be. There was no changing that.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Dimitri, it would just be a lot easier if you would just let me climb that stupid wall." Even though I had only known this man for a day, I knew he wasn't stupid enough to allow a girl with a long dress on climb up a wall. He seemed to have sense which was something that not a lot of people had around here.

"Just go through the servant part of the building" He answered as he opened a door that led into a kitchen. Everyone inside stopped for just a moment to see who it was who walked in. Their jaws dropped, but they said nothing and then returned to their work. I didn't blame them. This probably looked like the biggest scandal ever heard of to them. "There's a set of stairs there. Go up and take the first two left. You'll be at the top of the main stairs. Make your way to your room and do not come out until tomorrow morning. Do you promise?"

"I promise I won't" I answered as he opened the door to the stairs that I didn't even know existed. "How do you know this building better than me already? You've been here for a day and I've lived here my whole life."

"There are a lot of things that you don't know, Miss Hathaway" He concluded. "There are a lot of things that are hidden from you. You're royal. You've barely scratched the surface of life. Me? I've gone all the way down." It seemed as though he had lived a tough life. Well, he would have done as a Russian man. Why else would he come over to this country? Whatever it was that had made me so upset for my seventeen years of life felt so little now compared to all of the things that he's probably had to go through in his life.

"Call me Rose" I said. It probably seemed slightly random to him, but I simply couldn't stop myself from saying it. "If I can call you Dimitri then you can call me Rose. Really, we're not all that different." He gave me a small but firm nod. I could tell then that I had hit a nerve. He quite clearly wasn't comfortable with talking about how own life…his own problems. Maybe it was just better for me to leave now before I said something that would ruin the friendship we had sort of formed.

"Go before someone catches you" He urged. With that said, I hitched my dress up and disappeared up the stairs. It was the first two lefts that he said, wasn't it? This wasn't fair! I've lived here my whole life and I can't even make my way to my bedroom without getting lost. Dimitri's been here for a day and he can manage it. Why does my mother keep me hidden from all of these things?

After about five minutes of scampering around, I finally found myself at the main staircase. It wouldn't be hard for someone to see me here, so I hurried off to my bedroom and collapsed on the bed before a knock sounded at the door. When I opened it, I found Lillia Zeklos. My breathing slowed as she walked in. Thank God it was someone that I could trust. Lissa was too busy with the party. I needed to talk to someone now…to cry to someone now. How had this day turned out like this!?

**Well, chapter two's up! Hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review on your way out XD**


	3. Chapter 3

Twisted Rose

**Thanks again to anyone who has reviewed. It really means a lot. Please keep giving feedback and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I'm probably going to start leaving a lyric on each chapter like I do with my other stories.**

**Lyrics: Do you remember summer '09. Want to go back there every night. Just can't lie it was the best time of my life. Lying on the beach as the sun blew out. Playing this guitar by the fire too loud. Oh my, my they could never shut us down.**

Chapter Three

"My good God!" She exclaimed as I thumped down on my four poster bed and finally allowed my shoulders sag now that I wasn't in the presence of my cossetted mother. "What on earth happened to you?" She was careful not to sit down, knowing that if my mother was to hear about this she would probably get the sack.

Lillia crouched down before me and gave me a warm smile. It was at times like these when I realised that this girl that was probably younger than me cared about me more than my own mother ever could.

"I'm just being silly again" I waved off as I wiped desperately at my eyes. No one was supposed to see me cry. After all, I was Royal. I didn't have a reason to cry…I had the best life anyone could ever wish for. The words repeated and bounced around in my head…the words that my mother had being saying to me ever since I was old enough to understand what she meant. "It's just been a really long day. I'm probably just tired."

"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Miss" She apologised in advance as she bit her lip hard, torn between leaving her friend or toying with losing her job. "You and I both know that that is not the reason why your face is stained with tears. Please tell me what's wrong. I promise I won't let anyone know…I won't let your mother now."

Lillia knew how annoyed and upset I got over my mother. She knew that my best interests weren't at heart when it came to that woman. She understood. "I wish I wasn't Royal" My tiny voice sounded just like that of a mouse as I averted eye contact with her. To wish for something like that was virtually unheard of and it sure as hell wouldn't be tolerated had I said it outside of my bedroom.

For a moment, I couldn't believe that I had ever said it. There were people on the outskirts of town starving to death. You couldn't go out after it got dark down in the village for fear of being attacked. This wasn't a good place to live…crime wasn't unheard of. I was safe in the manor. No one could hurt me from here, yet I was wishing that I didn't have this safety.

"What makes you say this?" Lillia asked and for a while, I believed that she was disgusted in what I had said. Everyone else would have been. Her face was hardened as she stared deep inside my eyes as though she was able to retrieve an answer from them. Her face soon softened before she patted me gingerly on the shoulder.

"It's like I don't even have my own life" I mumbled, beginning to feel very much like a petty child, pouting at her mother when she didn't get what she wanted. "Everyone just controls me. I might as well just be a pawn on a chest set."

"Oh, that's not true at all" She retorted. "You have the power to do so much more than you think. Lady Hathaway can't rule forever. Soon she will have to step down and then it will be your turn to rule. Then you'll be independent. You'll be able to do whatever you want. What brought this on?"

"I've been feeling like this for a while." I answered. "It reached its height as soon as Dimitri began working here. My mother was furious about it. That's when I realised that I didn't even have the power to make any of my own decisions. It just got to me, you know?"

"Yes, I understand" She answered, however her face took on a stony expression. "That Dimitri really is a handsome lad." Oh, was that why she didn't seem too happy to hear of my involvement with him. Was Lillia after Dimitri? At that moment, I suddenly began to feel guilty. Lillia deserved him. I was probably going to marry someone of high status.

"Indeed he is" I answered as I offered her a warm smile…one that my heart wasn't really into. "You should talk to him more often. Maybe love will blossom." Although I didn't want to say it, I knew it would make her happy to hear it. After all, it's my job to keep people happy…keep the peace.

A blush crept over her cheeks before a smile broke out on her face. "Oh, I don't know" She sighed. "I don't think my parents would be all too pleased if I brought a Russian man home to meet them. They're very old fashioned."

"I'm sure they'll be fine with it once they see how happy you are." I answered as I slipped into a night gown before feeling the tiredness wash over me. I felt selfish for thinking this, but I just want Lillia to leave me in peace for now. My brain simply couldn't be bothered with trivial conversation about Dimitri.

"I guess so" She agreed, but I could tell she didn't believe it. Even as I clambered into bed and pulled the covers tightly up to my chin, she still just sat at the floor and made no move to leave.

"Lillia, would you mind leaving, so I can get some sleep please?" I questioned, knowing full well that she had no choice. Whatever I say goes, right?

"Of course" She exclaimed as she stumbled up from her spot on the floor, shocked by my request. She had never once known me to want to be left alone. She gave a weak smile before scurrying from my room and disappearing out into the hallway.

As soon as the door was closed, I had time to just lie in my bed and reflect on everything that had happened today. The gentle, classical music floated up from downstairs up to my room. The hum of chatter and the occasional roar of laughter often greeted my ears. For once in my life, I was ecstatic by the fact that I didn't have to be part of a party. I was glad that I was hole up in my room without anyone telling me how beautiful my dress was or about how my hair was to die for.

With that thought in my head, I drifted off into an undisturbed sleep.

The drapes of my bedroom were ripped open, allowing a harsh, bright light to attack the room. My eyes squinted firmly as I turned over in my bed to hide myself. Oh, that was not a nice feeling.

"Don't you dare try and hide from me" A soft, melancholic voice sang. Oh, that voice had sounded so foreign. It felt like it had been so long since I last got to properly talk to her. My eyes shot open, despite the bright light that was continuously seeping through my window.

"Lissa, I've wanted to talk to you for so long!" I exclaimed as I sat upright in bed. "Where have you been lately?"

"I'm sorry, Rose" She sighed. "I've been so busy lately. Anyway, get this on. We're going for a walk." She handed me a long flowing skirt that stopped at the knees and a white blouse. My eyes bugged out as I stared at it.

"You do realise that it would be incredibly bad for me to wear this?" I questioned. "I'll disgrace my mother." For my whole life, I'm expected to wear long, captivating dresses. A skirt is, what my mother would call, 'prostitutes attire.' I had never worn a skirt before, but I seriously wanted to try.

"That's exactly why we're going to do it" She laughed as she gestured at the skirt once more. "I know how upset you've been getting lately over not having control over yourself. Well, we're going to try and show her that you can make your own choices."

A grin broke out on my face as I began to get dressed. "You are one wicked woman, Lissa."

As soon as we took our first steps out of the house and into the gardens, I began to feel nervous and self-conscious. The grounds were open for anyone of the public to come to…a chance to relax. Anyone could see me right now.

A few glances fixed on me and their jaws dropped. Oh god, they hated it.

"Is this Rose Hathaway wearing a skirt?" A voice asked from behind me. I whirled round to see Adrian Ivashkov staring intently at me. "You look wonderful, Rosemarie." He complimented, before leaning over to one of the flowerbeds and picking a tulip for me. "For you, m'lady."

"Thank you, Mr Ivashkov" I replied politely as I took the tulip from him. My insides felt ready to burst. This was the kind of man that everyone wanted to be with. The kind that even my mother would be pleased to see me with.

"Please, call me Adrian" He rectified friendly before giving a flashing smile. "You really do look dashing in that skirt, Rosemarie."

"If I call you Adrian, will you call me Rose?" I questioned as I fixed him with a smile of my own. I had never been one to be flirtatious, but it seemed as though Adrian had the power to make anyone possess the ability to.

"Anything you wish for, my dear." He answered. "I didn't see you at the party last night."

"I was a little busy" I lied as I tried to forget the memories of trying to run away. "Perhaps you'll be at the weekly dinner that my mother hosts?" There was a part of me that told me that I was being silly, but there was another part that told me to pursue this.

"Hmm, perhaps I will be" He answered in that mysterious way of his. "I look forward to seeing you again, Rose." He took my hand in his and pressed his lips gently to it like a true gentleman before tuning to face Lissa. "Vasilisa" He acknowledged with a nod of the head before continuing his walk.

"Did that just happen?" Lissa asked as her face split into a grin. To be honest, I was finding it hard to believe too. Just as I was about to answer her, a harsh voice spoke from behind me.

"What on earth are you wearing?" She spat. When I turned, I saw my mother standing there with her arms folded tightly over her chest and her mouth set in a straight line.

"Mother, my fashion choice is my own" I defended. It was probably the first time I had ever stood up to her and it felt good.

"No choice is your own" She snapped. "You're lucky it was Mr. Ivashkov you were talking to. Make sure you stick with him. He'd make a good husband" With that said, she stormed off, leaving me unable to comprehend what she had even said. I only spoke to the man…there was no way I was going to marry him.

"Don't let her know that Dimitri has a thing for you" Lissa sighed as she followed my mother back into the house. I followed, but said nothing more. Dimitri doesn't have a thing for me, does he? Oh, why did everyone in this stupid house have to ask so preposterous all the time.

**Well, that's chapter three. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review. Also, I apologise for taking so long to update for this story.**


	4. Chapter 4

Twisted Rose

**Well, thank you very much to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this one and please keep the feedback coming. Oh, and I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!  
**

**Lyrics: In the end as you fade into the night who will tell the story of your life?**

Chapter Four

My heart was pounding in my chest as I walked back into the house. What on Earth had just happened? Did I really just have a conversation to the beautiful Adrian Ivashkov? Did I really flirt with the handsome man? Oh good god. If my mother found out that I had been flirting, I would get the biggest slap right across the face. A grin had been playing at my lips as I walked back through the house, up the main staircase that led to my bedroom.

Adrian Ivashkov had shown an interest in me. I kept repeating the words in my head, still not sure that it had really happened. Every single girl in the village would want to be in my position. Absolutely everyone thought that Adrian was a wonderful looking man. Everyone knew that he was a gentleman too. To even have him spare you a second glance was a blessing.

"You seem happy, Rose" A voice said from behind me. My thoughts abruptly came to a halt as I searched for the voice. Well, it was an easy one to figure out. Of course it would be Dimitri that was walking behind me.

"Hello, Mr Belikov" I greeted. "And yes, I am very happy" After talks last night, he didn't seem to understand why I was being so formal with him. This must be the first servant job he had ever had. He clearly didn't understand the etiquette.

"May I ask why?" He asked as he flashed me a smile. Oh, he believed this was a game. He didn't understand how serious this was. My mother didn't want me to converse with him more than I had to. If she saw this, Dimitri would be in huge amounts of trouble.

"No you may not" I answered. If it had been about anyone other than Adrian, I would have probably told him but, as it stands, this was my secret that I didn't want anyone else to know. I wanted to keep it all to myself and enjoy the privacy of the moment I had spent with him. Goodness, it seemed as though I was smitten after a few exchanged words.

"I apologise, Miss Hathaway" He said as he bowed ever so slightly at me, graceful even though he towered over me. His jaw hardened as he stood up. Something I had said had annoyed him. It didn't take a genius to work it out. I had led him into a false sense of security and then practically sneered at him as I told him he wasn't allowed to know any details of my life.

I should be thankful to him. After all, he had been the one to stop me from running away. In reality, I should owe him with my life. Yet, here I am. Acting like a complete witch to him.

"I must be going" He informed, not waiting for my reply as he stalked down the stairs once more. Well, I hadn't been expecting that. At that moment, I chose to do exactly what my mother would have done had she been in that same situation. I simply ignored him and thought about how he was just staff and his opinions didn't matter, nor did I care about them.

I wish to God that I had known that that would probably be one of the biggest mistakes I would ever make in my life.

To turn out like my mother would be dastardly in itself…but to turn out like her and project all of her hatred onto Dimitri would be unfathomable. I shouldn't do that to him…no, I couldn't do that to him. He had done nothing to me apart from help me out in times that I needed it.

Once I had reached my room, I had only managed to have a tiny moment of peace before the door snapped open and Lillia came waltzing in with a large smile on her face. Well, this was what it was always like and probably always would be like. Whatever my duties were…they came first.

"Yes, Lillia" I allowed as I looked at her expectantly. It must be so hard to need permission to speak.

"Your mother wants to see you" She informed. I wished that I could live in a normal home. That way, my mother would be the one to come up and tell me that. She shouldn't need a servant to call for her child. "She says it's very important. Something about Mr Ivashkov."

"Oh gosh, what have I done now?" I grumbled as I pushed myself out of the armchair and stood in front of Lillia.

"Oh, I don't think you've done anything wrong" She assured as she smiled again. "Actually, she sounded very pleased with you. You should hurry down. You don't want to test her patience"

With a small nod, I followed her out of my bedroom and walked calmly down the main staircase to the living room where my mother was standing. If I had hurried, I would only be scolded from her.

"Ah, Rose" She sighed as I took the seat next to her. "I need to speak with you about a certain gentleman" She had a small smile on her face. This was different to how I had ever seen her. She always had a stony glare fixed on that marred face of hers.

"Is this Adrian?" I asked as I trained my eyes on the window. Please say she wasn't going to actually suggest this.

"Of course it is" She answered. "He's taken quite the interest in you which is why he's invited to my dinner on Sunday and he will also be invited to every one after that…as your husband" My mind went blank as I attempted to process everything that she had just said. Panic set in as I thought about what the rest of my life was set to be like. Oh goodness, what was going to happen to me? "Well, say something" She snapped at me as my eyes bugged out wide. This could not be happening to me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" I shouted at her as I leapt from my seat and glared at her. She cowered away from me for a split second before her fiery personality joined my own.

"Rosemarie Hathaway, don't you dare use that kind of language with me or you'll be out on the streets before you know it" She threatened as she glared once more. "You ungrateful bastard" In all of my life, I had never heard my mother swear and hearing that word come out of her mouth cut deep into me like a knife.

"How am I ungrateful?" I questioned. "I would much rather live on the streets than be bullied into a marriage that I didn't want by you, you little shit" I had never used a word like that either. It was the height of bad manners and made me feel cheap, but she had angered me so much.

A sharp slap connected with my face as she stood over me. My eyes burned as tears threatened to spill, but I couldn't dare let her see the pain she was causing me. I couldn't let her win this one.

"Don't you dare call me that again" She hissed under her breath. "Stop acting like a cheap, little whore. You will settle down and it will be with a man of my choosing. It certainly won't be with that Russian servant, Dimitri"

His name hung in the air like a bad smell. The simple fact that she used his name had me stunned into silence. Before I even had a chance to think of a comeback, she had sauntered from the room and left me standing there with my flaming red cheek.

_Dimitri's Point Of View_

The shouting soon stopped and I saw Lady Hathaway strut away from the room as I stood hidden in the shadows. Silence fell over the house. No one was on the ground floor anymore. The whereabouts of Lady Hathaway were unknown.

Why had her mother mentioned me when she was shouting at her? What had I done to make Lady Hathaway believe that I wanted to wed her daughter? My mind felt so confused as I closed my eyes. I had only been here for a couple of days and I was already causing problems for everyone who lived here. Maybe it would be best for me to just pack my bags and hand in my notice. That way I wouldn't cause problems between Rose and her mother and she would be able to live the life that she was destined to live.

Small cries filled the silence the emitted from the living room. Rose was in tears because of what her mother had done to her. At that moment, I realised that this wasn't all about me. If I thought that how I was feeling was bad, Rose would be going through a dreadful time. The heart wrenching feeling made all of my sanity seep away as I moved from my place in the shadows and into the living room. She stood with her back to me, hunched over as she clutched at her cheek. Her body was shaking as she wept.

"Rose" I breathed. She lurched around and simply stared at me before her face softened and she allowed me to take her into my arms. She didn't deserve to feel like this…didn't deserve to feel this controlled and broken.

"Dimitri, I don't know what to do anymore" She whispered into my shoulder as her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, her hair tickling my nose. "I don't want to marry Adrian"

"Shh, Rose" I comforted. I could lie to her and tell her that she wouldn't have to marry him because we both knew that if her mother wanted it, she would get it.

"I don't want to stay here anymore" She cried. "Please just take me to Russia. Just get me out of here" Her words made me hopeful. She was a beautiful girl that I would be lucky to marry, but her words were also helpless. She was just distressed. If she was in her right frame of mind, she would never suggest anything like this. As appealing as it may sound, I couldn't take advantage of her. I had been raised not dragged.

"Roza, you can't leave here" I reminded. "You have Vasilisa and you need to look after this place. Please don't cry. Everything's going to be okay"

"I'm sorry I'm making you deal with all of these problems" She apologised as she stepped out of my arms. Reluctantly, I took a step back. "You have your own issues to deal with and I'm just making everything worse for you"

"Nonsense" I argued. "I don't mind helping you when you need it. I certainly don't mind comforting you when you're crying. Your tears ruin beauty. We can't have a princess like you ruin her beauty." My words seemed to amuse her. A grin rose to her face and she let out a small chuckle, the sound being melancholic.

"Thank you, Dimitri" She whispered.

"It's no problem at all" I assured. "If you ever need to talk to me about anything, you know where I am." She simply looked at me with a smile before nodding and walking out, leaving me standing there feeling like a fool.

What on Earth had I just done?

**Well, did you like it being in Dimitri's point of view for once? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review XD**


	5. Chapter 5

Twisted Rose

**Thank you to anyone who reviewed on the last chapter! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll try to include more of Dimitri's point of view in future chapters! Please keep leaving reviews!**

**Lyrics: Even though I'll never know what's up ahead, I'm never letting go**

Chapter Five

When I woke up the next morning, my mind was still panicked. How was I supposed to face my mother and everyone else after what had happened between us? My cheek felt like it was on fire from the slap that my wicked mother delivered and I knew that it was going to flaming red when I looked in the mirror. All my life, I had never had a single bit of acne and I had always been somewhat pretty…now I had a huge, crimson red mark on my cheek and it was my own mother who had never given it to me.

Slowly, I sat up in my bed and held the covers close to my chin. Conflicted wasn't even the word. My mind was convinced that there wasn't even a word for what I was feeling right now. It should be impossible for one person to feel all of that at once…shouldn't they explode?

All I could think about was everything that Dimitri had said to me. I wasn't his responsibility, yet he still held me in the living room and told me all of the things that a young girl deserves to here. It should have been my mother who was trying to make me feel better, but it seemed that that was out of the question.

My bedroom door clicked open and Lissa stepped in gingerly. It seemed that lately the world didn't want us to spend much time together. She had been busy with her duties and I had been busy with my own. No one warned me how much of a struggle life would be. Nobody told me that a world like this allowed no room for friendship…that I couldn't even choose my own husband.

"Hello, how are you?" She asked as she crept further in as though she believed that I could explode in a bad temper at any minute. Was I really that awkward to be around for everyone else? "I heard about what happened"

"Great, I guess everyone's talking about it" I spat bitterly. Lissa cringed at my tone, not used to me being outright furious.

"I suppose you could say that you are quite an interesting topic of conversation at the moment" Lissa answered, trying her absolute hardest to act as though it wasn't a big deal. I didn't want to be the freak of the Royal Court.

"Oh, great" I hissed. "My stupid mother just had to go ahead and slap me. I wonder what Adrian thinks"

"If it helps, most people are laughing at your mother" Lissa grinned. "Not you. In fact, they all feel sorry for you. Hell, some even believe that you've been badly done to" It took a lot for Lissa to use that kind of language and hearing those words come out of her mouth brought a smile to my face. People were on my side for once.

"You're being serious, aren't you?" I asked, needing confirmation as my brain simply found it too hard to believe that the population of the village was now starting to make sense. My mind could only think about the thought that perhaps this was only the start. My mind began to think that perhaps people would really start realising what my mother was like.

"Of course I'm being serious" Lissa laughed as she perched on the edge of my bed, flattening her dress in the process. "You know that I would joke about something as serious as this." She was right. Lissa understood how upset I used to get over the things that my mother used to say and do. If there was any hope that this would stop, Lissa would be just as serious about it as I was.

"I can't believe this is happening" I cheered, making sure I wasn't too loud because my mother hated loud noises. As much as I hated her, I knew it wasn't a good idea to simply irritate her further. "Lissa this could all end soon" Her face split into a toothy grin.

She had known me before the pressures of being Royal had gotten to me and ruined any shred of personality that was left. She had often told me that she had missed the person that I used to be…and I had missed that person too. This Rose was nowhere near as fun. If there was any sign of the old Rose returning, she would be ecstatic about it.

"Well, it is happening" She smiled before turning serious once more. "Are you going to marry Adrian?" Even though that was probably the biggest thing that had been brought up with me within the past few days, it had not been the one that I had even attempted to think about. My relationship with my mother was more important to me. Well, getting out of this mess with being Royal was more important anyway.

"I haven't thought about it" I answered honestly as I bit my lip. Although I went on about how dreadful it would be to marry him, I realised that it would be all that bad. He was a handsome man, well paid and he seemed like he could be a sweetheart if he wanted to be. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to marry him. I only got so angry at my mother for deciding this was because I didn't feel as though it should be up to her. After all, it wouldn't really be that much of a hardship to marry Adrian.

"You know, if it's taking you this long to decide if you like him, I would suggest that you don't" Lissa answered for me, making herself more comfortable on my bed. Oh, this was going to be one of those infamous girl talks that Lissa seemed to manage to suck everyone into.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, pulling the covers up to my chin.

"Well, when you love someone…you just know that you love them" She answered as she gazed at nothing in particular as though she was in some sort of trance. "It's such a hard feeling to describe, but once you experience it, you'll know exactly what I mean. It's not something that you can just forget about."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" I asked with a mix of joy and offence in me. She had never once told me that she thought she was in love and that offended me that she didn't think she could trust me with something like that, but it was also lovely to know that she had felt that feeling before.

"Maybe I've spoken to a few men in my time and maybe I felt it for one of them" She evaded as she looked at anything but my eyes. Oh, that cheeky minx! She had begun to fall in love with someone and she hadn't been planning on telling me. Well, this certainly is the day for truths, isn't it?

"So, when were you planning on telling me?" I asked, trying my absolute best to keep the annoyance out of my tone, but it was simply too hard. Lissa had been my best friend for as long as I could remember and she hadn't even told me something as serious as that.

"Oh, please don't be annoyed with me" She pleaded as she flashed me her best and biggest puppy dog eyes. Oh, did she really think that was going to work on me!? I had been raised by one of the most heartless women in the entire world. Puppy dog eyes could not work on me no matter how cute they were.

"I just want to know why you didn't tell me" I answered as I looked down, feeling rather childish now for overreacting about something that didn't seem to be that big a deal for Lissa.

"I didn't tell you because I was confused myself and I wanted to try and figure it out for myself" She answered with a small smile. "And I didn't want to tell you because you've had so much to deal with lately that it just didn't seem fair for me to dump even more on you. You don't deserve all of that, Rose"

"Oh, of course I can listen to all of your problems" I shrugged off before leaning forward to her. "In fact, I'd quite like to hear about this one. Who is he?"

"Um, It's Christian" She answered biting her lip once more. My heart sank. Why did it have to be Christian that she had to fall for? His parents weren't exactly the best that someone could have. Well, his parents had stolen from many different villagers. It didn't take a genius to work out that that would reflect badly on Christian. Everyone simply tended to avoid him now.

"Christian Ozera?" I questioned even though I knew too well that there was only one fella that went by the name of Christian in this village. She nodded once more and I couldn't help but notice a grin slip onto her face.

Oh goodness, he had her turning giggly. What on Earth was happening to the world!? Vasilisa Dragomir never giggled!

That was when I realised what Lissa had meant about how you would just feel it and you would know that you loved them. It was clearly obvious that Lissa found it when she was around Christian. She acted differently around him. It was like she was always walking on air…like she was constantly on a high whenever he was near her.

She was right. I didn't feel that for Adrian and that proved that I didn't love him. The fact that there was no love between us wouldn't matter to my mother. All she wanted was to make sure that she had more money and a higher status and that was why I needed to be rid of her. I didn't crave or need any of those things and I knew that my mother would stop at nothing to get them.

The way Lissa felt and acted reminded me of something. I was sure that I had felt that way before about someone, but I couldn't place who it was that had made my whole body tremble with some sort of secret delight. As realisation dawned on her, her eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously…all the while with Lissa oblivious as to why she was acting like that.

Oh goodness. This could not happen to her.

**Well, this chapter was more of a filler than anything else. I apologise deeply and profusely for how badly it is written, but I was welcoming in the New Year and decided to stay up all night and well, this was the product of my imagination at 4:53 am. Oh, I hope you all enjoy your new year and I hope your 2013 is great. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Twisted Rose

**I'm back! I'm so sorry for going on temporary hiatus whilst I finished Redemption! At least, I'm back and I should hopefully update quicker than I was. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this long-awaited chapter and please leave a review!  
**

**Lyrics: Better beware I go bump in the night. Devil-may-care with a lust for life**

Chapter Six

I woke up in a considerably better mood than last night. For once, I didn't feel as though I was going to get up and have an awful day. It was almost as though I had a new lease on life. Tonight was going to be the Sunday supper that my mother always holds and Adrian was going to be there. What better way to show my mother up and also have a little fun.

For some strange reason, I wished that Dimitri would be there too. Perhaps it was just because he had been the one to try and comfort me when nobody else would. Or maybe it was because he was a handsome lad…more than handsome actually. Never in my life had I met a man with hair as lustrous as his was.

As he held me when I cried, I had told him that I had wanted to go to Russia with him. Of course he would have believed that that was just an emotional woman talking absolute nonsense, but I knew that it was all true. I knew that I would give absolutely anything to get out of this place and run away to Russia. It didn't have to be with Dimitri, but I would like it to be with a familiar face. Dimitri felt familiar and friendly enough for me.

"Miss Hathaway, it's time to get up" Lillia announced as she opened the door to my bedroom minutely and slipped inside. "Come along, I have a beautiful new dress for you to wear today. It should make Adrian weak at the knees when he sees you at the supper" She held in front of me a long, flowing dress, the colour of a rich red. It was so simplistic it made it eye-catching.

"Oh, so my mother still thinks that she has the right to dictate who I marry after what she did?" I laughed bitterly as I allowed her to tighten the dress as I held onto the bedframe with a dead-lock grip.

"Miss Hathaway, I must ask" Lillia began as though she was scared of what I might say to her. "What on Earth happened with you two?" I should have expected a conversation to arise like this at some point. I just never expected it to be so soon.

"It's a very long story, Lillia" I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't have anywhere to get to if I wanted to. Tightening this dress was going to take a long time. "But I suppose we have the time to tell it. When Dimitri first came here, my mother hated him for the sheer fact that she thought that there was something going on between us. Obviously that was absurd, but she just couldn't see how silly she was being. When I talked to Adrian that afternoon, her mind started to race with ways that she could get me away from Dimitri and into the arms of Adrian. So, she thought the best way to go about it was an arranged marriage."

"Well, that wouldn't be so bad" Lillia commented as she continued on with jamming me in the dress. Oh, goodness. I had sincerely hoped that Lillia wouldn't agree with my mother. "Adrian is a good man. He would treat you right…and your children would be incredibly beautiful" I was ready to pass out at that point. Oh God, I don't want children with Adrian.

"No, children with Adrian would be a dreadful" I sighed with a shake of my head. "If I was to have a child with Adrian, I would always be cossetted. There'd be absolutely no hope for me. Anyways, I got annoyed at her when she suggested it and we got into a bit of an argument where we called each other some things that aren't exactly…polite to say the least. Well, I called her a horrible name and she slapped me right across the face."

"She did not!" Lillia cried in horror, finally ceasing on doing up the dress and allowing me to turn around. "What happened after that?"

"She just left the room and I couldn't help but cry" I answered, hesitating before I told her the next part. "You have to promise me that you won't tell anybody what I told you."

"Of course I won't" She answered as though it should have been obvious that she wouldn't reveal a secret of mine. "I promise you that no one will hear this from me."

"Well, Dimitri came in when I was crying and he hugged me" I sighed wistfully. Now that I look back on it, that was one hell of a hug. No wonder my mother thought that I wanted to marry him. Simply smelling him was enough to turn my giddy. "I may have said a few silly things that I wouldn't normally say if I wasn't so emotional"

"Like what?" Lillia asked from the wicker chair at the corner of the room. Her intrigue was rising at each new revelation of this story.

"Well, I told him that I wanted him to take me to Russia with him" I admitted, feeling stupid for even suggesting that to him. That would never work. If I disappeared, half the country would be looking for me. We wouldn't even make it a mile before my mother clamped down on us.

"You did what!?" Lillia gasped, holding onto the arms of the wicker chair for extra support. What I had said to Dimitri was simply scandalous. It was like nothing that Lillia had ever heard in her life before. Oh goodness, if Lillia was shocked by it, everyone else would be ten times worse.

"I know it was stupid of me to even suggest such a thing" I jumped in, desperate to stop myself from having to hear about how irresponsible I had been.

"You're damn right it was" She snapped. Never had Lillia been mad at me. "Does Miss Dragomir know? What did Mr Belikov say?"

"Lissa doesn't know the full story" I admitted, feeling guilty for not keeping her in the loop, but she had Christian to worry about. She didn't need to busy herself with my worries and troubles. "I don't want to bother her with it. Dimitri just said that we couldn't."

"Miss Hathaway, Vasilisa is your best friend" Lillia reminded me with a pointed glance. "She would want to know if something was bothering and you know that she would only get mad if she found out from someone else."

"But she won't find out from someone else because you promised not to tell anyone" I said, raising my eyebrows at her as I prayed that she wouldn't go back on her promise.

"That's not the point" She sighed. "Vasilisa could help you with this. She could help you unravel your feelings. So, what do you think of Dimitri? Is it possible that you have feelings for him that would be frowned upon by your mother."

"Oh, Lillia" I whispered. "Practically everything is frowned upon by my mother."

"Please don't avert the question, Rosemarie" She said, a frown etched upon her face. Oh goodness, this really was serious. She even addressed me by my first name. She was looking down on me.

"I don't know, Lillia" I answered truthfully, fixing her with a steely gaze and clasping my hands together as they sat on my lap. "I don't know anything about Dimitri. This could just be one of those things that-what do those girls down in the village call it- a crush?"

"Oh please, Miss Hathaway" Lillia laughed. "Please don't go common on me" For the first time this morning, I broke out in a grin and gave a hearty laugh. Oh, it's too weird. How could I want to be like those girls so much when I could have a brilliant life here if I just allowed it? I could marry Adrian, have children and grow up giving them the best lifestyle I could.

I could have all of those things and yet, I'm finding myself lusting after the servant who is off limits to me. I guess the world really does work in strange ways.

"Come along, Miss Hathaway" Lillia finally sighed as she stood up from the wicker chair and gestured for me to follow her. "Don't tell anyone I ever let you do this" She warned. I sneaked out after her to find her going down the servant passageway. The last time I was here, Dimitri had stopped me from running away. For some reason, I preferred being here than in the main part of the house. It felt as though things were so much more laid back.

"What are you doing, Lillia?" I asked as she opened the door to the kitchens. No one really took notice of me as I walked in wearing my dress. They probably assumed I would go all dictator on them.

"I'm seeing if Dimitri is here" She answered as though it was the most casual thing in the world. In a flash, I grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"No, you can't do that" I hissed. "I really can't see him right now. I can't handle what he has to say" She simply shrugged and dragged me further into the kitchens. For a young girl, she was incredibly strong. It probably had something to do with all the strenuous work she had to do. After all, all I do is walk around without a purpose.

"Miss Hathaway, you really need to see him" She sighed as she pulled me even further into the servant's quarters. "Oh, Mr Belikov, there you are. Could you come here for a moment?" She pushed us both in a secluded area of the kitchens.

"Rose, what are you doing here?" He asked, confusion and concern swept over his face as he inspected me for any signs of damage. Well, he did hear my mother slap me. He probably just thought she'd done something like that again and I got too upset to handle it alone. No doubt he probably thought I was here to beg him to take me to Russia with him.

"Apparently I had to talk to you" I answered, feeling just as confused as he was. "Lillia said I had to."

"Whatever is between you two, you need to sort it out" Lillia helped. She raised her eyebrows at us before striding off to give us some privacy.

"Is there something between us?" Dimitri asked. It didn't occur to me that maybe he was just as confused by this as I had been. How could I be so insensitive.

"I'm not sure" I answered truthfully just like I had with Lillia. "Do you think there could be?"

"Well, if I gave you the opportunity to come to Russia with me, would you do it?" He asked. My heart began to pound furiously in my chest. All of the answers to my problems could be held right in this very moment.

"Yes, I would" I responded, giving him a firm nod to back up my answer. He took my hand in his and pressed a light kiss to my knuckles which made me feel weak at the knees.

"Then yes" He sighed. "I do think there could be something between us"

"So, what now?" I asked, refusing to let him leave go of my shaking hand.

"Now, we go to Russia"

**Again, so sorry for going on temporary hiatus. I hope this chapter made up for it, though. Hope you all enjoyed and please drop off a review on your way out ;) thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

Twisted Rose

**Thanks for the reviews guys! After going on hiatus because I had a heavy workload, I'm ready to be back, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Lyrics: Outside the rain's falling down. There's not a drop that hits me.**

Chapter Seven

The thought of running away to Russia was enough to make my heart race at the speed of an Olympian. My whole life had been spent roaming the grounds and the manor. I couldn't remember ever stepping out of the main gates that led into the village. I may have made it to the front garden once or twice before getting called back by my mother. It was almost as though she believed that there was something waiting for me outside of these walls. It was like she didn't believe that I could look after myself.

As soon as Dimitri told me that we were going to be running away to Russia, my mind seemed to switch off to the point where I barely heard him telling me to go up to my room to pack essentials and then meet him at the very back room of the servant quarter. He told me that we would start off by going through the woods and then making our way to the dock and onto a ship. As soon as we got out of the village, it would be a lot harder for people to track us down. He made it sound so easy.

With those final words, he gave me a light push back to where Lillia was. She immediately linked arms with me and led me straight back up to my room, talking once again about the dress I was wearing as she attempted to act as though everything was just as normal as usual.

As soon as we were in the cover of my bedroom, she launched an attack of questions on me as I cowered away from her in the corner of the mahogany bedroom walls. In her eyes, I could see sheer happiness at the fact that I seemed to be a lot happier after my little talk with Dimitri, but I could also see a glint of jealousy. Perhaps she had wanted Dimitri for herself or she was jealous that there was an opening for me to get out of this horrific place.

Oh goodness, I didn't even think of that. If I choose to run away with Dimitri, I would have to leave everything behind. That would include Lillia and Lissa. There would be no way for me to even hear about Lissa and Christian. Was that really worth my freedom?

Yes.

If they knew how I was feeling whenever I was stuck here, they would understand why I had to choose over them. They would understand that if I stayed here, I would end up going insane.

"So, what did he say?" She asked, a wide smile on her face with jealousy still flickering maliciously in her sharp eyes. "Have you two found a way to be together with no one else knowing?"

"We're going to run away to Russia together" I answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. The jealous look in her eyes died away almost immediately along with the excitement. It seemed as though I had finally managed to stun Lillia into silence. I guess there really was a first time for everything.

"What did you just say, Miss Hathaway?" Lillia asked, going straight back to formalities as her arms dropped to her sides. "I'm not entirely sure if I heard you correctly. It seemed to me that you said that you were going to run away to Russia with Dimitri."

"Oh no" I sighed. "You heard me right, Lillia. I'm not going to stay here for a moment longer. Dimitri has presented me with a chance to finally break free from here and I intend to seize this chance with both hands. After all, whenever I'm around him, I feel safe. That's more than I can say for this place."

"Miss Hathaway, I implore you to think thoroughly about what you are committing yourself to" Lillia pleaded. "Don't you understand what the security is like in this village? Miss Hathaway, you wouldn't even make it one mile."

Bitterness took over any confusion or pity I may have had over this woman. How dare she? She's no different to my mother. For all of this time, I had believed that she was a girl that I could trust with my life, but really she had the exact same doubts about me as my mother had.

"Excuse me, Lillia Zeklos" I snapped as I crossed my arms defensively over my chest in the most un-lady like manner. "It is not your place to tell me what I can and cannot do…and you will do well to remember that. Please leave, so I can pack my essentials. I don't need you cluttering up the place." Perhaps I shouldn't have gone as far as to say something as harsh as that, but I was finding it rather hard to keep my temper under control when all she was doing was making me feel terrible about wanting to get out of here and actually doing something about it.

"You won't manage this, Miss Hathaway" She said as she retreated. "They'll be hunting you down like dogs when they find out that you're missing. Do you really think they're going to let Dimitri get away with taking a royal away from the court?"

With that said, she turned and walked briskly out of the room as though she owned the place. What did she mean, though? If we were caught trying to get to Russia, what would happen to Dimitri? With the mother that I have, I couldn't imagine that it would be something good.

Perhaps this was the desperation of a royal or maybe it was just the fact that I was selfish that made me brush that under the carpet as though it was nothing and proceed to pack any clothes and food we may need for the time that it takes us to get Russia. I also took the money I had been saving ever since I could remember.

By the time I was finished, my hands were shaking in anticipation and fear. Taking one last look around my bedroom, I gave a sad sigh. As much as I had wanted to get out of here, it was still my home and it would be missed.

"Rose, are you ready to go?" A deep, silky voice asked me from behind. I turned quickly to see Dimitri standing in the doorway with an awkward smile on his face. He took hesitant steps inside in order to take the box that I had filled with anything we may need. He took it in his arms and winced at the heaviness of it. "Goodness, Rose! How many things do you need?"

"Apparently a lot" I answered, my face solemn as I followed him back down to the servant quarter. He talked the whole time about how I was going to love Russia and all the things that we were going to be able to do together. Any other woman would have been ecstatic to hear these things coming from the lips of a man so sweet and beautiful as Dimitri, but all I could think about was that I was going to leave Lissa behind and that I had ended my friendship with Lillia badly.

"There's been a change of plans" Dimitri finally said once we were completely alone. "Instead of going through the woods on foot, I decided that we could take one of the Court's cars to make our way to the dock. If you hide under a blanket in the back seat, I'm sure no one would see you. We'd be able to get out of here a lot quicker if we did it this way"

"Yes, I know that" I agreed, my face contorting with thought. "Wouldn't it be a lot riskier to do it that way? Is it really worth it?"

"Yes, it would be a lot riskier" He acknowledged with a nod of his head. "But if we go through the woods on foot, they'll probably catch us before we've even been running ten minutes. Do you trust me, Roza?"

"Yes, of course I trust you" I answered as I allowed him to pull me towards a black car that seemed to look more like a tiny house than anything else. With a grace fit for an angel, he draped a blanket over me and covered my head with it.

"I promise you won't have to lie there for long" He whispered before I felt the car moving. We hadn't been moving for very long before we stopped once more.

"Where are you going?" A voice that I didn't recognise ask.

"I'm delivering food supplies down to the village" Dimitri answered with such ease. I decided then that this couldn't possibly be the first time that he had found himself in a spot of bother. "Lady Hathaway ordered me to. She seemed very angry. If I was you, I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of her today."

"You're right" The man agreed before I heard the loud creak of the main gate opening. "Through you go." Dimitri said nothing, but got straight back into the car and then we were moving again. I heard the gate close once more and then felt us turn a corner.

"You can come out now" Dimitri said. Quicker than a rocket, I launched from the back seat and made my way to the front of the car where Dimitri was sat. He fixed me with one of his rare smiles that made everything seem okay. It made me feel even safer to be around him.

The first few minutes of the getaway was petrifying. I half expected my mother to simply show up out of nowhere and drag me out of the car, but it didn't happen. I even expected Lillia to tell everyone what happened and for them to come racing after us as though there was no tomorrow.

"How are you feeling?" Dimitri asked after long minutes of silence. "Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to turn back." The idea of turning back sounded quite appealing. If we turned back now, nobody would be in trouble and we could just go on as normal. Dimitri would be safe. As much as I wanted to keep him safe, I couldn't bring myself to tell him to turn around. It was pure selfishness.

"No, I'm fine" I answered, knowing that I was lying. "We can't turn back. We just can't. I'm worried for you, though." He flashed me another of his bright smiles that made me believe that he was omnipotent.

"Why are you worried for me?" He asked as though the idea of someone having any concern for him was totally absurd.

"I worry that's all" I snapped. "What do you think my mother's going to do to you if she catches us? It won't just be a slap on the wrist."

"That's true" He sighed. "It won't just be a slap on the wrist. She'd probably lynch me or something just as terrible as that. Rose, don't you think you're missing a pretty crucial part of all of this?"

"What do you mean?" I questioned, my eyes probably burning holes into him. "I think my mother lynching you is rather crucial."

"Rose, we're not going to get caught" Dimitri reminded, giving me a small wink. "As long as you're with me, you're not going back there. You'll be safe."

And I well and truly believed him.

**Hey, at least I got this chapter up quicker than the last one. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please keep the feedback coming! Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

Twisted Rose

**Thanks to anyone who reviewed! It's much appreciated. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Lyrics: I'd rather waste my life pretending than have to forget you for one whole minute**

Chapter Eight

I took it as a very good sign that we managed to reach it to the dock all in one piece. Surely that had to be an accomplishment. Or maybe my mother just hadn't even noticed that I was gone yet and still hadn't bothered to send help for me.

Either way, it didn't matter. I was still getting out of this place. Somewhere deep inside of me, I almost wished that she had cared enough to send someone for me. Perhaps she loved me as her daughter. Goodness no. That could never be true.

As we walked to the dock, Dimitri kept a tight grip on my hand at all times and I kept my head down just in case anybody recognised me. The last thing any of us needed was for someone to see me boarding a boat with a Russian servant.

On the off chance that my mother actually cared enough to try and find me, I didn't want her to know that I had been anywhere near the dock. It didn't take a genius to work out that we would go to Russia.

The dock was colder than I thought it would have been, but Dimitri kept me warm by wrapping his large coat over my shoulders like a true gentleman. For some reason, I kept thinking about how I didn't think it would have been likely for Adrian to do something like that. If only my mother could have seen that he wouldn't have been like that…maybe she wouldn't have slapped me so damn hard.

"When are we going to leave?" I asked as I tapped my hands against my dress impatiently. I kept expecting an army of guards to swarm around us like wasps. The sooner we were on that boat, the better. Boarding time couldn't come quick enough for me.

"Very soon" Dimitri answered, wrapping an arm protectively around me. "Ah, see they're boarding now." We joined the queue of people that were piling onto the boat. The boat looked rather small for us all to fit in and for a moment I caught myself worrying about my safety on this boat. It soon diminished as soon as Dimitri took my hand in his once more. Nothing could harm me when he was around.

"Ticket, please" The guard said once we reached the front of the queue. What ticket? Surely Dimitri must have gotten a ticket. He's smart and he was willing to do anything to get us out of this.

"Oh, I'm sure you can forget about the fact that we don't have tickets" Dimitri chuckled, passing the man a lot more money than a ticket would have cost. The guard's eyes went wide before he pushed the money roughly into his pocket with greed etched upon his face.

"Thank you, Sir" He said with a new-born element of excitement dripping from his words. "I hope you have a good journey." If my mother was here, she would be going insane with the bad thing that we had just done. Goodness, it was excellent being free like this. Hmm, it seems I have spread my wings.

"So, what now?" I asked, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice. This was the most adventurous thing I had ever done in my life. For once in my life, I was being daring. Exciting was an understatement.

"Now we find an empty store cupboard that we can sleep in until we get to Finland" Dimitri announced as he led me through corridors and corridors until we reached a small store cupboard in the heart of it all. It was filled with boxes, but there was a spot behind them that Dimitri and I would be able to curl up in if we really tried. Gosh, this boat was a lot bigger than I thought.

"Why are we going to Finland?" I asked, unsure of where Finland even was. My mother neglected to teach me things of importance. All I knew was how to act like a good royal. In the situation, that meant absolutely nothing any more. Dimitri and I were equals now.

"Well, this isn't going all the way to Russia" Dimitri explained as he attempted to make himself comfortable on the wooden flooring of the store cupboard. "This one only goes as far as Finland. After we dock there, we'll find another boat that will take us to Russia."

"Oh, so how long will it take us to get to Finland?" I asked, feeling even more stupid as the minutes went on and I asked silly questions that held no importance. Why couldn't my dastardly mother have taught me geography to save me from all this awkwardness!?

"Two nights" He answered. How could he be so knowledgeable on this subject? He's probably travelled the world whereas I hadn't even stepped out the gates until this morning. "We'll dock in other places before we get to Finland, but we'll be in Russia before you know it."

"What's Russia like?" I asked as I lay back one the floor, using the material of my dress as a makeshift pillow. I guess these royal dresses weren't so bad.

"It's beautiful" He sighed dreamily as he turned over to face me. "Words can't possibly describe how fantastic it is."

"It sounds amazing" I whispered as I tried to picture Dimitri as a child in such a beautiful country. If I was him, I would have never left. It sounded too good to give up. "Why did you leave?" I found myself asking. For a moment, he looked uncomfortable and faced away from me again.

Something bad must have happened to him to make him take off without warning and then to not want to talk about it. Oh, how I wish that I could help him get over it.

"Russia's great and everything, but it's just hard" He explained. He always had such a way with words, but that ability seemed to be escaping him at the minute. "It's stressful there. So many people relied upon me there. I had to get out. So, I moved to England and I met you. For that, I'm glad I left Russia."

His hand left the back of his head and travelled to my face to caress my skin. Instictively, I held onto it with all I had in me. He was warm and his hands were calloused, yet so gentle as they swept across my skin with ease.

"Thank you" I whispered, closing my eyes and letting myself lose myself in the touch.

"For what?" Dimitri asked. Oh, how could he not realise what I was thankful for. After all, there had been so much that he had done for me.

"For everything" I sighed gently, leaning into him. "You've done so much for me. You're taking me to Russia to get away from my mother and you've just revealed something about your life that you were uncomfortable with."

"It's all for you, Roza" He whispered, edging closer to me before he pressed his lips up against mine with a gentleness that was unbelievable. I moved my hand to his neck and kissed back, attempting to be just as gentle as he was, but I knew it was impossible. His hands glided from my waist to hold onto either side of my face as though he was scared that I was going to try and retreat. Who in their right mind would move away from a kiss as beautiful as this? "Mm, Rose" Dimitri finally chuckled.

"What?" I questioned, a hint of annoyance lurking within me. Kissing me couldn't be that funny, could it? And why were we stopping?

"You're just so perfect" He explained with a wistful sigh, wrapping an arm around me as he pressed my back against his stomach. "And you're a hell of a good kisser."

"Well, I do try my best" I laughed, feeling considerably happy.

"I'm going to miss seeing you in this dress" He mumbled against my ear, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"Why would I need to get out of the dress?" I asked defensively. As much as I hated being royal, I loved the dresses. It was like constantly being a child playing dress-up. For my whole life, my image was the only thing that really mattered. Putting me in a cheap dress would completely kill that image.

"Oh, I could think of a number of reasons" He joked, his arm tightening around my shoulders.

"Mr Belikov, I hope you're not suggesting what I think you are" I said sternly, attempting to keep the grin from my face as I turned to face him. "It's nice to know how attracted you are to me."

His face pressed against my hair, he mumbled, "Hmm, very attracted, my dear."

This was nice. It was something that I never thought I would have the chance to experience in my life. For once, I was getting the chance to just fool around with a man. There was no commitment which was new for me. There was no one around telling me that I should marry the man. For once, I was in charge of a possible relationship. That fact felt so liberating.

"Seriously, why do I need to get out of this dress?" I asked once more, letting my eyes close as tiredness began to take over. This day had been too long. It was worth it, but long all the same.

"Well, you can't go to Russia looking like you're royal. You're going to have to blend in with the rest of us." Blending in did not sound like anything that I was capable of doing. Blending in. How exactly did one blend in? It sounded like an awful lot of work.

I keep saying that I don't want to be royal anymore, but becoming a servant was a little too much for me. Oh god, I was being selfish again. I could live with just the perks of being royal. That was just being ridiculous. I would have to make some sacrifices to make this work.

"So, do I have to be a servant?" I asked, aware of how scared my voice sounded. I had servants for all my life and now there was the possibility that I was going to be one. I think I was entitled to feel rather scared at the moment.

"Of course not" Dimitri waved off. "We're not getting jobs. We're going to keep a low profile. When I say that you need to blend in, I just mean by getting a new dress that isn't quite as flamboyant as the one you're wearing."

"Oh, well that can be arranged" I grinned. "If you're luck, maybe you can help me put it on."

"Rosemarie Hathaway, you're changing" Dimitri laughed, feigning shock. "I quite like the change."

Thank Goodness for that! I didn't think I could ever cope with being a servant. Let's face it, I'd probably get fired within the first week. There was no way I would ever be able to live a life where I was running around for other people. At least, I would only have to change my dress. Perhaps the new dress would be better than this one. Okay, that was a very long shot, but it made me feel better about the situation.

So, with Dimitri's arm around me and relaxing thoughts in my head, I slipped off into a dreamless slumber.

**God, I'm making Rose sound dirty in this chapter. Sorry about that ;) anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm hoping to get the next chapter up soon, so look forward to that! Again, thanks for reading and please keep the feedback coming! It means a lot to me!**


	9. Chapter 9

Twisted Rose

**Thanks for reviewing on the last chapter everyone! I hope you all enjoy this one and please keep the feedback coming!**

**Lyrics: Little girl, you like it loud. Come alive in the middle of the crowd. You wanna scream. You wanna shout. Get excited when the lights go down at the rock show.**

Chapter Nine

By the time we finally docked in Finland, I had started feeling closed in on this boat. I was not presented with the opportunity to leave the room because Dimitri wanted to keep me safe. He only went out to retrieve food for us which was less than what I was used to. We kept ourselves entertained by telling stories. His were always more interesting than my own. He told me tales of when he was in Russia. The most interesting was when he fell from a balcony and ended up in the infirmary for five days.

Any story he told me sounded so exotic compared to the ones that I was able to offer him. All the same, he acted as though he was interested in what I had to say. Apparently, he thought the idea of Lissa and I spending three hours hiding in the scullery whilst my mother sent out a search party for us positively hilarious.

_Oh, Lissa. _The mention of her sent a pang of guilt throughout me. How could I have just left her to deal with royal life alone? It was ever so cruel and selfish of me. How would she be feeling now? She would probably never talk to me again if I was to return.

"So, what are we going to do now?" I asked Dimitri in a feeble attempt to take my mind off Lissa. Dimitri took my hand in his as we walked away from the dock.

"It's going to be an hour before the ship going to Russia comes in" Dimitri answered with a look that made me think that he was thoroughly annoyed by the delay. "For that hour we're going to find you a new dress to wear."

"Oh, let's go then" I said cheerfully as I pulled him along with me to the nearest dress shop that I could find that wouldn't be too far away from the dock.

Dimitri looked awkward in a dress shop. There was no other way to say that. He was so much taller than all of the women strolling in and out. He led me straight over to a corner where no one was because he didn't like the attention that women were giving him. I wasn't a big fan of it either. Each one was clearly attracted to him.

"Get that one" Dimitri said, pulling a red sundress off the railing. I was beginning to think that Dimitri was willing to get me any dress in the shop that I wanted if it meant that we could leave quickly. Did he really hate the attention from the women that much?

"What will the weather be like in Russia?" I asked, feeling stupid at not even knowing what the seasons were like there. "Won't it be cold?"

"No, it'll be quite warm" Dimitri answered. "Russia gets absolutely sweltering at times." I had always loved the sun, but not to the point that I could barely stand it. I never really had that problem with living in England all of my life. It didn't really get too hot.

"Oh, that must be better than the weather at England" I commented as I let my fingers run through the material of the dress. It was a lot thinner than anything that I was normally used to. It looked so much easier to walk in than the one that I was wearing.

"Yes, that's one of the reasons why I missed Russia" Dimitri laughed, watching me feel the dress intently. "The weather in England isn't particularly nice."

"Well, that's an understatement" I joked. "I'll take the dress" Dimitri walked with me to the counter to buy it. The man who stood behind the counter didn't talk to us, but simply handed me the dress and snatched the money from Dimitri's hands and then gestured towards the door.

Dimitri took nothing of the offensive nature of the man and simply took my hand in his once more and led me out of the shop.

"When am I going to put this on?" I asked Dimitri as I gazed at the dress lovingly. It felt like a symbol of my freedom. The sooner I got the dress on, the sooner I would be free of my mother and all of the other business involved with being royal.

"I've never really been to Finland before" Dimitri admitted. Oh, it was a first for both of us. That was rather interesting. "I don't know where we could go for you to get changed. You could get changed at the back of that building and hope that no one sees us." I knew it was a joke, but I found myself wanting to do it anyway. It was as though I was willing to do anything that my mother would class as rebellious.

"Let me do it" I whispered in Dimitri's ear, nipping his earlobe gently with my teeth. The shock that registered on Dimitri's face was one that I wished I had a photograph of. His eyes managed to elicit a short bubble of laughter from me.

"Why on Earth would you actually want to do that?" Dimitri asked even though he led me to the back of the dress shop regardless of his own opinions on the matter.

"Because it's adventurous" I answered, my hands reaching out behind me to loosen the corset styled back. Dimitri reached out hesitantly to help me, his hands moving ever so delicately and hastily for fear that I would be caught by someone.

"You're so weird, Rose" He laughed before the dress was loose enough to slide off my body. He turned around to let me slip out of it in privacy and slip the summer dress on. Oh, he was ever such a good gentleman.

Before I changed into the summer dress, I tapped Dimitri on the shoulder to make him think that I was done. He turned back around to face me before his eyes went wide.

"You were supposed to get changed before I turned around" He reminded, not knowing where to look. Instead of saying anything, I reached up to caress his face with my small hand before standing on the tips of my toes to press a kiss to his lips.

Now that he had forgotten about the fact that I was practically naked in front of him, he wrapped his arms protectively around my waist and pulled me closer as he applied more force to the kiss.

"You really are changing" He laughed in between kisses. Oh, that was what I had been hoping for. I didn't want to be anything like the girl that I used to be. It was brilliant to hear Dimitri confirm that for me. I wanted it to come from someone that I cared about. I was becoming the kind of woman that I truly wanted to be.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from the kiss and pressed his forehead against mine, his deep brown eyes staring into my own so intently.

"Get your dress on, Miss Hathaway" He ordered, attempting to fix me with a glare. I bit my lips as I clasped my hands around the back of his neck.

"Do I have to?" I whispered, aware how ridiculous I was possibly sounding right now. Who knew that doing something like this would be so much fun? Why had my mother tried to stop me from being like this? It was much better than how I used to act.

"Yes, you have to" Dimitri stated with a gruff voice. Maybe this was affecting him more than it was me. The idea that I had power over Dimitri made doing this all the more fun. This was all just like a big game.

"But this is too much fun" I whined with a wink as I began to run my hands over the front of Dimitri's chest. What had ever made me so daring? His lightning fast reflexes caught them before I really did anything. With a smug smirk over the fact that he completely overpowered me, he pressed a kiss to the side of my mouth before turning around once more.

"Not here, Roza" He demanded before crossing his arms over his chest. I knew there was no point in pursuing it as I already felt as though I had had enough fun for one day. With a smirk to myself, I slipped the red sundress on and tapped Dimitri on his shoulder one more time. He was more hesitant to turn around this time…this almost brought a smile to my face.

"Could you zip me up?" I asked, turning my back to him, so he could see the zip. His deft fingers swept the zip up before pushing me back around to face him.

"I'm starting to understand why your mother locked you up all those years" Dimitri sighed.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I tried to keep any offence from oozing out of my voice. I was sure that I just got the wrong end of the stick here.

"Well, whenever you're unleashed, you wreak havoc with every man in sight" Dimitri answered, fixing me with a warm smile.

"I'm just excited to go to Russia with you" I rectified. I didn't want to sound too needy of having a man.

"Of course you are" Dimitri agreed.

"Hey, get out of here!" A rough voice yelled, snapping us out of our love filled haze. My eyes snapped towards one of the doorways at the back of a building to see a middle-aged man with broad shoulders, an apron covered in blood and guts, and a butcher's knife in his hand. Brilliant, we had managed to find ourselves right next to an abattoir.

Dimitri grabbed my hand and yanked me roughly away from the man who was holding the knife up threateningly at us. He ran forward with me with loud laughs as I scrambled to keep up with him. Finally, we reached the safety of the line of people waiting to get on the boat.

"I'm not sure I like Finland" I breathed as we reached the front of the line.

"Ticket please" The man on the dock said with a heavy Russian accent. Dimitri mumbled something in Russian and presented some money to the man whose face took on the same excited look as the man back in England. "On you go."

"So, are we sleeping in a store cupboard again?" I asked, almost looking forward to it. The last store cupboard we had slept in resulted in us spending some quality time together. I wouldn't mind doing that once more.

"Yes, we'll have to" Dimitri answered, walking the hallways of the boat as though he already knew them like the back of his hand even though he had never been on the boat before today. Would he ever cease in harbouring amazing talents? Did I even have to ask that question? Of course he wouldn't. After all, it's Dimitri Belikov. His talents are endless.

He opened the door to an unused store cupboard that seemed to be more comfortable than the one we slept in on the other boat. There was more space and even rags to lie on. I guess this was going to be considered as luxury for now.

"It's perfect" I stated, fixing Dimitri with a smile. It really was perfection to be here with him and away from home.

**Yes, it was ever so cliché. Well, I hope you all liked this chapter and please drop off a review on your way out. Thank you all so much for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

Twisted Rose

**Hi everyone, thanks for reviewing on the previous chapter. Hope you all enjoy this one and thanks for reading! This will also be the last chapter of the story. Sorry it was so short! I hope you've enjoyed reading the whole thing, though.**

**Lyrics: I believe that we all fall down sometimes**

Chapter Ten

Russia was beautiful. There was honestly no other word to describe how amazing it was. It was easily ten times better than England. Perhaps it was just because I had never been out of the country. It didn't matter where I went, I would probably find anywhere beautiful because it was all so exotic to me.

I had seen photographs of this place and others like it, but there was no possible way that it could have ever managed to do it justice. This was so much more vibrant and interesting than any photograph could make it look.

I didn't believe that it was just because I had never been out of England. Dimitri's face told me that much. He was in just as much awe as I was over it. It was such an amazing thing to see him look so surprised and relieved by his own home.

"Oh, I've missed this place so much" Dimitri sighed as we sat outside a café with our drinks. It was a lot warmer here than in England. Almost everyone was sitting outside with loose dresses on and fans in their hands to aid them in cooling off.

"You look so relaxed here" I noted as I took in everything about him. He looked as though he knew these streets so well like the back of his hand. I felt privileged to simply be in his presence.

"It's my home, Roza" He mumbled, looking ever so humble. It was then that I realised that perhaps he wasn't as comfortable talking about his life before he met me as I thought he was. "It's soon to be yours too." Wow, when I agreed to go to Russia with Dimitri I never believed that it would truly become my new home. The idea of living in such a mesmerising place like this was enough to turn me giddy…much to Dimitri's amusement. "It seems you really like Russia."

"Words can't describe how brilliant it is" I sighed wistfully as I allowed myself a moment to bask in the heat. "Why did you leave?" Just like that, all of the goodness was sucked out of the place as Dimitri tensed up and let out a frustrated sigh. Oh, why couldn't I just be happy about being here in silence? I didn't want to upset him about this.

"Rose, my past is something that you don't want to know" He answered with a shake of his head as though trying to emphasise his point. Almost as quickly as my guilt came, my anger replaced it. If I was to spend my life with this man and trust him to keep me out of trouble, I should be able to know about him. Although I had never really had any experience men, I believed that this was common knowledge.

"Dimitri, I don't mean to pry, but I think it's my business" I retorted, trying to keep my voice as soft as possible. Shouting at him was hardly going to make him trust me enough to tell me whatever is on his chest. "I'm going to be travelling with you. I want you to open up your heart to me…we need to know everything about each other if this is going to work."

"Oh, when did you get so wise?" Dimitri asked with a proud smile as he leaned forward and tucked a stray piece of hair behind me ear. He cupped my face with his large hands and gently stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. The touch almost made me forget what I had wanted to find out, but I couldn't allow that. If he was trying to make me forget, he was doing a bad job of it.

"I've always been wise, Dimitri" I answered, holding the hand stroking my face with my own, his warmth seeping into me as I did so. "You were just able to bring it out of me." Maybe if I sweetened up a little bit, he would be willing to tell me. The notion was probably ridiculous, but it was worth a try. I had nothing to lose, right? Wrong. I have everything to lose. If I lose the trust and respect for Dimitri, I have no way of getting out of the mess I've made.

"Okay, I'll tell you" Dimitri sighed, but I could tell he hadn't wanted to. What could it possibly be? What could be so bad that he wouldn't want to share it with me? "You have to promise me that you'll still take this journey with me"

"Of course, Dimitri" I answered hastily. The mention of any way that this could end sent me into panic mode. "There's nothing that could stop me from going with you."

"I lived a life rather similar to yours when I lived here" Dimitri began, turning away from me as though it was too hard to tell me when he could see me. Oh, why does he think that I could ever possibly hate him? "I felt the stress of royal life get to me too. I had to get out."

"What?" I questioned. My brain felt as though it was dead. Surely I hadn't heard him correctly. No, I couldn't have heard him correctly. Maybe he just made a simple mistake. No, he had to have made a simple mistake. There's no way he could have kept something as big as this away from me for so long. He just couldn't have. "You're a royal in Russia?" I must have failed to keep the offence and anger out of my voice because his face registered only hurt.

"Yes, but Rose it means absolutely nothing to me" Dimitri explained with haste as though he believed I was going to slip from his grasp at any moment. "I hated being a royal too. That's why I came to England. That's why I became a servant. Working at the manor was the best experience of my life…it brought me to you. I only came back to Russia, so you could have a fresh start."

"How could you keep something like that from me?" I asked loudly as my eyes burned. "I needed someone to talk to and you let me believe that you were someone that you weren't."

"Rose, it was only because I wanted to forget that I was a royal" He sighed. "I wasn't cheating you in any way." I realised that he was right. I was just overreacting…once again. It's not all about me. This has nothing to do with me. I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.

"Well, what are we going to do?" I finally asked once I was finally able to voice my thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Dimitri asked with obvious confusion, looking more relaxed now that it was obvious that I wasn't mad.

"Well, people are going to recognise you" I reminded. "There's no way people won't. You were ready to rule this place. They're not going to forget you in a hurry."

"I know" He sighed sadly. "I was hoping we could just go into hiding. Maybe nobody would find us. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy."

"Dimitri, could you handle being a royal if I was with you?" I asked, feeling as though I finally had an idea.

"I don't know where you're going with this." He sighed.

"If you were to marry me, I would be a royal in this country" I revealed. "We could still be royal and not have to hide, but we'd be allowed to be together. It's the only way we can get out of this"

"I guess you're right" He admitted, his hand once again going to caress my face before his lips dropped a light kiss on my own.

"Would you expect any less?"

**I apologise for this chapter being shorter than the others. There's no way I did that justice, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway ;)**


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